USA refunds German companies hundreds of millions of euros in tariffs

After Supreme Court Ruling, Companies Receive Hundreds of Millions of Euros in Refunds

It was a significant setback for US President Trump: the Supreme Court had struck down part of his controversial tariffs. A recent analysis shows that German companies alone have received back nearly 800 million euros.

According to a report by Wirtschaftswoche, publicly listed companies in Germany have received refunds for paid US tariffs totaling more than 790 million euros in recent weeks. The figure was derived from financial reports and additional statements by the corporations, the newspaper reported.

The background is a landmark ruling by the US Supreme Court. Tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump were declared unlawful by the Supreme Court in February 2026. The Supreme Court found that Trump had exceeded his authority when he imposed sweeping tariffs against dozens of trading partners. The US president has since imposed new tariffs on the basis of other legislation.

DHL Received Largest Refund

The largest refund among German publicly listed companies was recorded by logistics giant DHL, according to the report. DHL Chief Financial Officer Melanie Kreis said in early August that the company had received a total of 416 million euros. The funds would be passed on to the affected customers. DHL expects further repayments.

Significant refunds were also reported in the healthcare sector. Medical technology company Siemens Healthineers has so far received around 200 million euros in net tariff refunds, as CFO Jochen Schmitz stated at the end of July. Laboratory equipment supplier Sartorius has received 26 million euros to date, and medical and safety equipment manufacturer Dräger around 22 million euros.

Further Payments Expected to Follow

Sportswear manufacturer Puma reports tariff refunds of around 49 million euros, and Rational, the world market leader in commercial cooking equipment, of 14 million euros. Puma rival Adidas expects refunds of between 250 and 300 million dollars. Further payments are likely to follow, Wirtschaftswoche reported.

In total, the US government refunded around 81.3 billion US dollars (approximately 65.5 billion euros) between October 2025 and the end of June 2026. In the same period of the previous year, the total stood at just under 5.3 billion dollars.